Or, to be more precise, why the Wal-Mart nearest my house is always out of ammunition.

I was coming home late from work tonight and decided to stop by the local Wal-Mart on the off chance they might have some ammunition in stock. I received some Wal-Mart gift cards for Christmas and haven't been able to put them to good use as of yet.

I hit the door at about 9PM, give or take 5 minutes and walked to the Sporting Goods counter.

The clerk saw me and asked if he could help me. I asked if he had any 9mm ammunition and he said that they had gotten in 10 of the hundred packs today but they were sold out.

I asked him when they normally put the ammo out on the shelves and he said that it depended when the truck got there but that it was usually between 7PM and 8PM. The next question I asked was pretty obvious. "So you sold 1000 rounds of 9mm in the last 2 hours?"

His answer was that the truck had come in a little early and they had actually put the ammunition out at roughly quarter after 6PM. He then said that it hadn't taken them long to sell out as there were 3 people already waiting for the ammunition to be put on the shelf.

He paused and then added that the 3 people had been waiting since 4PM.

I turned that over in my mind. Given that they normally put out the ammunition between 7PM and 8PM, that meant that these people had been planning on waiting over 3 hours for ammunition but had gotten lucky and ended up having to wait only 2 and a quarter hours instead.

I asked him if it was always like that and he replied that it was--that it was first come, first serve and with folks always waiting on the shipments they handed out numbers when someone came in early and waited. On a hunch, I asked him if it was always the same 3 people waiting and he replied: "Pretty much."

And there you have it. The reason my Wal-Mart is always out of handgun ammunition is apparently primarily due to a very small number of people who are willing to spend several hours a day waiting in the store to buy 3 boxes of ammunition every time some of it comes in.

No government conspiracy, no DHS induced shortage, no Wal-Mart corporate plan to deprive the general public of ammunition. It's a handful of folks who are willing to camp out for more than 3 hours, if need be, to buy 3 boxes of ammunition each every time they get a chance.

I feel the pain my friend. I can't tell you the countless trips I made to walmart for ammo only to get there and be looking at bare shelves. I am retired and have that kind of time, but I'll be dammed if I am going to camp out on front of a store in a slight hope of getting some ammo. TOUGH TIMES!

I asked him if it was always like that and he replied that it was--that it was first come, first serve and with folks always waiting on the shipments they handed out numbers when someone came in early and waited. On a hunch, I asked him if it was always the same 3 people waiting and he replied: "Pretty much."

I got pretty much the same information from the sales guy at Academy Sports. He said they put the stuff out each morning and folks are lined up before the store opens to buy it. So, they started limiting purchases to one box per individual and folks started showing up with friends. He speculated that they were from smaller guns shops attempting to augment their supply.

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Altho it's been a long time since I worked at it very hard, I made time to be in the right place at the right times in 2 local Walmarts today.

Around 9:30 a.m. one store still had 5 boxes of Federal 45, so I "limited out" with 3 of 'em, otd with 150 rounds for about $70. "The crowd" had already come and gone for the morning and when I left, the only pistol ammo on the shelf was 2 more boxes of 45.

Around 6 pm was able to catch clerk unloading a cart in the midst of about a half dozen people who were waiting around. First guy in line snagged the only 2 bulk packs of 22, but the rest of us got "satisfied" with 3 box limit of calibers we came for. Mine was otd with 3 Federal 100 round value packs of 9mm for about $70.

I went to a local wal-mart for some 22 ammo. I asked the young kid in sporting goods if he had any 22lr and he said no it was all sold out. I went to look at some fishing stuff and when I walked back past the sporting goods desk there was a guy standing there and I seen the kid take 2 bulk packs of 22lr out from under the counter and sold them to him. I was po'ed and asked the kid why he lied to me, he kind of stuttered a bit and said he didn't lie. I told him this was bs and demanded to see the manager. I told the manager what happened and he fired the kid on the spot, told him he had been warned twice and this was it. The manager said this was the third time the kid was caught holding ammo for someone.

The DHS induced shortage is real. Just not quite the way it is laid out in the media. Just a 50 million round demand (immediate order to be filled) from the government on its dedicated 1.6 - 2 billion round contracted commitments can cause a serious setback for getting ammunition to the civilian sector.

and I bet pretty much those same people waiting several hours to get the ammo are the same ones on gunbroker or on classified internet sites selling them for elevated prices.

I think that is total B.S. and Walmart employees are scamming Walmart, and customers in order to buy it and re-sell it.

No doubt this has happened at various places at various times, but the ongoing cries of Walmart conspiracy theories without justification are just plain silly.

Why is it that Walmart that stocks its stores regularly with small amounts of ammo has all these employees running scams to sell ammo under the counter is a viable explanation for a lack of ammo, but we aren't also claiming that all the other LGSs or big stores like Cabela's without ammo aren't doing the same thing? They are all missing ammo from the shelves as well.

Unless folks have some proof showing widespread scamming by Walmart employees, it is naïve and irresponsible to continue spreading unjustified rumors.

At least Walmart is continuing to delivery ammo regularly to customers. That isn't what can be said for many businesses.

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Doesnt surprise me. My brother works at walmart and calls me when the truck gets there. Its every man for himself at this point. Work smarter not harder.

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Let's assume, for arguments sake, that Walmart employees are conspiring with smaller gun shops (or others) to siphon off ammo, mark it up and resell it. All this would mean is that there would be an abundance of more-expensive-than-Walmart ammo out there for sale. You would have to pay "black market" prices, but you should still be able to buy as much ammo as you want, or can afford.

I will say this - you can get just about whatever ammo you are looking for at gun shows. It's going to cost you, but if money is no concern, you can walk out with thousands of rounds of 9mm, .223, 308, etc.

Personally, I think there are a combination of things going on. I think LGS's are sending folks out to raid Walmart. But, I also think there are still some hoarders out there stockpiling ammo. True hoarders will never be satisfied with their supply - it makes them feel good to think they have more than anyone else. I also think some ammo suppliers could be holding back to try and keep prices high. Just wait until the Stock Market does a 180 about face and drops 3000 points - there will be plenty of ammo out there for sale then.

The REASON Walmart is always out is also part of their buying power"...

They make deals in advance using our "buyers" to do so... they look at all sorts of figures and try to plan in a "build up" or amount of anticipated growth in sales...

While this makes large retailers more competitive it can also hinder them in hard times when inventory is limited on the wholesale end...

With the Walmart model, it seems no one has the power to go to manufacturers and wholesalers and make short term deals on short notice...

No one seems to be able to go to one and say "We don't care what it costs today compared to our contract you cannot fill, but we need to up our order by several million more boxes we hadn't expected to have already sold above expectations..."

Or something like that... Then you have folks buying as many "3 box limit" purchases as they can...

I am still several thousand rounds of .22 down and a few hundred 20 gauge rounds low too...

Several forum members have given first hand accounts, from various locations. I'm sure backroom deals are going on, but I'm sure it's not a ubiquitous problem either.

First hand accounts? So you are saying there are forum members involved in such goings-on?

Sorry, but you are going to have to cite some threads to justify this. All I have seen so far is a bunch of people claiming it goes on, believing it must be happening.

There are threads like this one where folks claim it is going on, but these are not first hand accounts of it happening. Plus as noted, if the employees are buying the ammo, which they may be allowed to do as with other goods from Walmart, then there is no foul. It isn't a scam.

__________________
"If you look through your scope and see your shoe, aim higher." -- said to me by my 11 year old daughter before going out for hogs 8/13/2011
My Hunting Videos https://www.youtube.com/user/HornHillRange

The DHS induced shortage is real. Just not quite the way it is laid out in the media.

No way, man we used to burn ammo like you wouldn't believe in the Army. And DHS isn't shooting .22LR or a half dozen other shortage calibers.

Like others have said, we are creating our own shortage. It's like a feeding frenzy. These guys walking in and buying every box they can and hoarding it or flipping it. Guys setting a "stash size", several thousand of this and several thousand of that. No wonder a guy like me can't just walk in and buy one box of .22LR at any of the 7 stores in my town that sell it.

I have a brand new .22LR that I haven't shot once since I bought it a month ago cause I can't get ammo to shoot thru it.

The DHS induced shortage is real. Just not quite the way it is laid out in the media. Just a 50 million round demand (immediate order to be filled) from the government on its dedicated 1.6 - 2 billion round contracted commitments can cause a serious setback for getting ammunition to the civilian sector.

Show me where the US DHS has contract commitments for the acceptance of 1.6-2 billion rounds of ammunition. Google up IDIQ=Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity.

ANOKA, Minn., March 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) announced that it is being awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (DHS, ICE) for .40 caliber ammunition. This contract features a base of 12 months, includes four option years, and will have a maximum volume of 450 million rounds.

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